I have been reading Daniel Pink's book, Drive which mostly presents findings about what most effectively motivates people in today's working world (hint: it isn't reward or fear of punishment). While he mostly puts his findings in the context of corporations and the business world, he is aware that these ideas have relevance to education as well. After some background that is worth reading for yourself, he gets to the challenging part: when tasks are creative and require problem solving (OK, that's just about everything I have my students do), one key motivating factor is autonomy.
Are you scared yet? Overwhelmed? Confused? I have to admit that I am, but a little excited too.
I know it's true. I know that if I give my students choices and allow them to express their individuality, I will get more from them: they will be more motivated to work, not just for the grade but for the learning. I might be able to *gasp* get them to want to learn! I want to do this!
But what does it look like? How does one have 37 students (times however many classes) each on an individual learning plan and doing their own thing? How does that not look like chaos and how is that not a grading/management nightmare?
Here is a list of things I have done that I think approach or maybe even achieve autonomy:
- Assign an essay where they can choose to agree or disagree with an idea or statement.
- Assign a project where they can choose the topic and the mode of communication (song, poem, blog post, short story, speech, monologue, etc.)
- Choose from a list of projects to complete.
Is it me, or do these seem too safe? Maybe it's because I have been doing this for more than 11 years and still don't feel like I am giving enough autonomy. I'm still not seeing all the passion and motivation I would like to see. I'm still working on what autonomy looks like and have some ideas I will post about later.
For now, what does autonomy look like in your classroom? What can you share?
This is a fantastic blog post! The topic of motivation has been on my radar lately, especially when it comes to motivating teachers to innovate in their classrooms. We are not that different from students. In order to take a risk and try something new we need the autonomy (freedom) to do so, the time to plan, and support so we can step forward without fear. I've been thinking a lot about that lately and even blogged about it myself. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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